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GDD™ 2010 Roundup: Part I

As 2010 draws to a close, we at GDD™ have decided to embark on a recap for you guys, and summarize our favorites from a truly epic year in EDM. Every day between now and January 1, our contributors will be pairing up to share their top picks with you. Tre and I drew the short straw and are up first, covering the bassier genres, so without further ado let’s kick things off…

Tre’s Picks:

Skream – Outside The Box [Tempa]In my eyes, 2010 saw the start to a great number of full length albums from EDM artists, which is pretty uncommon. The genre of mainstream dubstep emerged and saw the release of Magnetic Man on a mainstream label (Columbia), as well as Rusko’s OMG! on Mad Decent. However, there was only one that really stuck out to me as worthy of my album of the year – Skream’s Outside The Box. A cracking album from start to finish that demonstrates Skream’s versatility as an artist, ranging from the beautiful and entrancing sounds of ‘Epic Last Song’ to the heavy as sin ‘Wibbler’, which was a longtime anticipated by dubsteppers early on in the year.Essential Listening:Wibbler / How Real (Ft. Freckles) / Epic Last Song

Breakage – Foundation [Digital Soundboy]2010 was the year that saw Breakage (aka James Boyle) burst through the EDM scene with his own unique style. Foundation is a groundbreaking album full of jungle inspired drums, haunting bass lines and an eclectic mix of drum and bass and dubstep. James Boyle has taken a futurist approach to the scene, cranking out tunes that give listeners the best of both worlds while maintaining percussive roots in a scene that has been flourishing since the early 90’s. Breakage follows the simple, yet crucial rule of quality over quantity and while his songs may not be the busiest they sure deliver a sound that can only be described as smooth, haunting and powerful.Essential Listening: Hard (Ft. David Rodigan & Newham Generals) / Run ‘em Out (Ft. Roots Manuva) / Vial (Ft. Burial)

Flying Lotus – Cosmogramma [Brainfeeder]2010 was also the year that IDM finally broke into the mainstream. This is one of those albums that stayed #1 in the unbelievably competitive billboard chart that is my car stereo. FlyLo’s intricate full length was a full force fusion of IDM, Jazz, Classical, 8-bit, hip-hop and so much more. Flying Lotus’ intense amount of work and emotion can be felt throughout the entire record, which arguably flows better than any other album I’ve heard this year. One can’t mention Cosmogramma without mentioning the enormous amount of collaborations that graced the album, from Laura Darlington to Thom Yorke.Essential Listening:…And The World Laughs With You (Ft. Thom Yorke) / Do The Astral Plane / Nose Art

SweetFA’s Picks:

Netsky – Netsky [Hospital]

When I think of Belgium, probably the last thing that comes to mind is Drum & Bass, but this year I’ve been forced to have a rethink, after the success of Belgian DnB sensation Boris Daenen. Relatively new to the game, Daenen under the guise of Netsky unleashed his selftitled debut on the legendary London-based DnB label Hospital Records. Netsky’s liquid DnB sound has acted as a huge spark for the genre, breaking into the mainstream in a similar way to Pendulum when they unleashed Hold Your Color in 2005. With Hospital’s backing, you can expect big things from this guy.

Horsepower Productions – Quest For The Sonic Bounty [Tempa]Credited as one of the earliest pioneers of the dubstep genre, Horsepower Productions’ experimental UK Garage sound has been influencing scores of present day dubstep producers since the early noughties. The core duo consists of Benny Ill and Jay King, while Nassis and Lev Jnr drift in and out of the group, they worked together as a four piece for third studio album Quest For The Sonic Bounty which dropped last month. If you’re expecting high energy electronic wobble then this isn’t the one for you, but if you’re expecting a subtler more refined roots and garage album, then this is the one. For some the dubstep genre has begun to sound stale and monotonous, but when you listen to this record, you see that UK Garage is experiencing a second wind and will soon surpass it.Essential Listening:Poison Wine / Water / Damn It

Underworld – Barking [Om Records]While this record only touches the tips of bassier genres via some dank co production duties from Welsh DnB guru High Contrast, it’s definitely one of my top 5 records this year. Seeing an allstar lineup of co-producers including High Contrast, Appleblim, Dubfire, D.Ramirez and Paul Van Dyk, Barking is Underworld’s eighth studio album and it absolutely bangs. While it’s come under flak from some critics, I see it as some of their most ambitious and versatile work to date, ranging from the Deadmau5-ey prog house vibes of ‘Always Loved Film’, to straight up DnB jam ‘Scribble’. Those who were lucky enough to catch Karl Hyde and Rick Smith live this year will agree that these guys are one of the few acts whose live shows are even more mindblowing than their studio work, which is no easy feat.Essential Listening:Scribble (co prod. by High Contrast) / Always Loved Film (co prod. by D.Ramirez / Strumpet Groove

Started in 2005 by the legendary jungle mogul Shy FX, Digital Soundboy has become a household name in the electronic music scene. With both Shy’s musical knowledge and the talent he has recruited it is no wonder Digital Soundboy has become such a widely renowned and highly respected label. DS has had a massive year with hits from the likes of Breakage, Redlight, Benga, Benny Page, DJ Fresh, Caspa, Calibre and many more.

Circus Records was founded in 2008 in Weisbaden Germany, and now contains some of dubstep’s biggest names. Circus’ artists have saturated almost every dubsteppers itunes library and favorite clubs, whether it be the unique high end screeches of Doctor P, the intense layered basslines provided by Flux Pavilion or the diverse singles and remixes that Funtcase has dropped on us, we can’t deny that this was Circus’ year.

Thus, what can we say bassheads, glitch freaks, and IDM nazis…this was truly our year ; ) So grab these tunes, curl up next to the fire hugging your most massive sub and reminisce, because the best has yet to come (and we will keep bringing it to you).

9 Responses to GDD™ 2010 Roundup: Part I

idk Limelight, it's a tough call. Both are massive tracks, but when it comes down to it, I think the nero one's slightly out of tune with the vocals, so I'm a bigger fan of the netsky. I still dig the Nero one too tho

Anonymous, this is only the first part of our 2010 musical recap. You are right, 2010 was no doubt an amazing year in music and that is precisely the reason that we are making our 2010 recap a 5 part post. SweetFA and myself were only set to cover a few specific genres, and our other contributors will be taking care of the rest. So stayed tuned for much more to come every day up to the New Year.

Great post! Ignore the whiners. There's no way you could cover everything, but I think you guys did a bang up job. I look forward to checking the artists I'm less familiar with when I get home. Cheers.

Overall a very nice recap. I really enjoyed Breakages foundation as well. His style is really unique and i was lucky enough to see him once this year, nothing short of epic. Didnt really agree with u on the skream album but to each his own i guess.